Wizards, Time Lords, and other Anomalies
by prettycoolispose
Summary: In which Jenny doesn't realize that you aren't supposed to blink, Merlin learns that the earth is not in fact, flat, and crime lords from the future only wish they had an impact on the past. In which running solves only most of your problems, one planet is not big enough for a young time lord, and a warlock feels the keen sting of culture shock on a universal scale. Basically, run.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry for disapearing of the face of the earth. Life caught up with me in the nasty way it likes to. But my writing style changed a ton while I disapeared, and I have a whole bunch of ideas for this fic, so I decided to rewrite it. Tell me what you think! **

A young blond woman sprinted through the building. Sweat dripped down her face, smudging her makeup and stinging a small cut on her lip. Her clothes were dusty and clung to her in an unflattering way, and the jerking movement of her frantic running was not helping, and was in fact making a large hole in the knee of her pants even bigger than before. A crash echoed behind her, and the girl risked a look back, hoping that the crash was merely a bloodthirsty beastie, because you could run away from bloodthirsty beasties.

She came to a flight of stairs, her worn boots skidding to a stop as she struggled to keep herself from hurtling headfirst down the shiny linoleum steps. She paused for only a moment, glancing behind her where the ceiling seemed to be snowing, and the floor was shaking in a slightly terrifying way.

Down on the ground floor a sale had been going on, for, thank the gods, awnings.

_A soldier does not hesitate._

Jenny listened to the voice in her head, and took a flying leap of faith. The faith was in her time lord ability to survive things like jumping down flights of stairs.

The young time lord laughed as she flew through the air, throwing her arms out like featherless wings. Adrenaline sent her shooting threw the roof on a natural high. Nothing could defeat her!

Except, perhaps, for the shiny tiles rushing up to meet her.

The young time lord miscalculated, and instead of lightly bouncing off one of the awnings, she went too far to the side. Throwing out her hands, she managed to snag the very edge. "GODAMMIT!" she shrieked as a crack seemed to echo out of her hand, sending shots of pain through her whole arm like bolts of lightning. Breaking her hand was a small price to pay for the slowing of her fall, and she managed to duck into a roll and land with only a few bruises.

Crashes echoed throughout the enormous building, and Jenny pulled herself up and stumbled through the automatic doors.

"We are happy to open for you," the doors said cheerily. "We hope you've had a good time at the Closhings Memorial Mall."

"Thanks," muttered Jenny as she recovered from her fall and sprinted off. Behind her, the once grand building collapsed into rubble. A shame. She had really liked this planet, and now would have to leave. And all she had gotten was a stupid handshake with some politician and some broken fingers.

A camera swiveled to look at her, and Jenny turned towards it, grinning maniacally and waving, giving whoever was watching a full shot of her. She loved how when she went places her reputation preceded her, and how people gave her funny looks as she walked, pony tail flipping, hand waving, asking everybody she met if they had seen a funny man in a blue box.

It had been five years since the Doctor had left her on Messaline, and Jenny left soon after she had regenerated, unable to stay in the place that had caused her birth. It hurt too much. The people dying, her father's tears, the Seven Day War. As long as she was running, everything was alright, and somewhere, deep down, she harbored a hope that someday, the Doctor would say, "what the heck are these stories about a blond girl bopping about the galaxy, knocking down buildings and resisting arrest?" and check them out. But so far, that hadn't happened.

Jenny stopped waving and strutted away from the security camera. Suddenly, her shoulders slumped and she rubbed her eyes. How long had it been since she had last slept? Forty-eight hours, at least. But that meeting she had blown up was discussing better ways of human trafficking, and Jenny knew that was _wrong._

_A soldier always protects the weaker man._

Sleep would be amazing. Jenny had to pause for a moment and order herself to not collapse where she was standing, if only for the simple reason that the alien creature that inhabited this planet was starting to swarm the area, and would be looking for a blond girl wearing camo and carrying a large gun across her back.

The edge of the city beckoned; a green doorway beyond two buildings. Jenny slipped into the alleyway, and walked towards the forest.

It turned out to be a park, in the middle of the city, a random oasis of flora and fauna that thrived despite the pollution and bug like creatures constantly building taller and taller buildings.

Jenny soon found a narrow cobblestone path that led underneath broad leafed trees, with ferns and flowers on either side. The light shone down greenish, giving the whole place an unearthly look. Small animals skittered just out of sight, and stone statues of the bug creatures were frozen forever, doing menial tasks like holding pitchers of water. Stone benches, carved with signs of temporary love, stood at uneven intervals, facing leaping brooks and other areas of scenery. Somebody obviously cared deeply about this place.

Jenny chose a bench, tucked out of sight, and pulled the shoulder strap of her gun off, setting the weapon on the bench next to her. Sleeping was a bad idea, but a bit of a rest wouldn't hurt anything, as long as she didn't…

The time lord woke up, angry at herself for falling asleep.

_A soldier never closes his eyes while in danger, except to blink_.

Another rule broken. Dad would be proud.

Jenny stood up and stretched. She had to admit, the sleep had done her good, and she hadn't gotten caught, which was a plus. She reached for her gun-

Which was not there. "Crap," Jenny muttered, turning in a circle, looking around. The scenery had completely changed. Instead of the tame chaos of the park, she was in a wood that was not tame, and was merely chaos. Ferns reached up to her knees, bathing her in a pleasant, earthy scent. There was a suspicious lacking of the bench she had been laying on, but the imprint of her slender body in the ferns gave the impression that she had been laying there for a while.

_A soldier always knows where he is_.

Jenny shook her head, trying to get the Rules to stop bouncing around. They could be extremely controlling sometimes, and if she wanted to do something the rules said _not_ to do, then it took much willpower. But this rule, about knowing where she was, sounded like a good thing to follow.

Without her gun, and soaked to the bone by the dew that had settled on her in the middle of the night, Jenny felt very small. The trees soared up, scraping the sky around her and dwarfing her small five foot two frame. Picking a random direction, Jenny started walking.

There was a rustling in the ferns near her, and Jenny jumped, hand twitching towards her always-present-except-for-right-now gun. Not being afraid of danger (she would only regenerate); Jenny stalked towards the rustling, like a cat stalking its prey.

A small animal with a big fluffy tail jumped out of the ferns. Jenny jumped back, and then watched as the small animal scampered up a tree. Once it felt that it was sufficiently high enough so that Jenny wouldn't be able to eat it, it started chattering loudly.

Jenny took a few steps closer, cocking her head to the side and studying the animal. Some would say she looked remarkably like her father. "Are you sentient?" she asked the squirrel.

The squirrel chattered some more and spiraled its way to the top of the tree, disappearing into the greenery. Jenny shrugged and continued walking, feeling a bit more confident about this world. As she walked she looked back on her memories, trying to figure out what had happened. The slave traders, the bombs blowing before they should, the building collapsing, the park, the statues… and then sleep. Had there been anything else?

Perhaps one of the statues was something? Jenny, for the life of her, couldn't remember anything out of the ordinary. Although, had one of the statues been crying?

All thought of statues stalking around her as she slept was pushed to the side in the face of this new thing: a road. It was a dirt road, with little weeds growing on the sides and ruts where wagon wheels always wore away at the dirt. It was dry, because the sun beat down hard. As she stepped into the road, Jenny noted that the temperature increased by about ten degrees.

Something sparkled in the dirt, and Jenny bent down to reach it. She grit her teeth in pain as she remembered her broken hand, and used her left hand to pick it up. It turned out to merely be a piece of unimportant greenish glass, glittering like a jewel. Jenny admired it for a few moments, wondering how people could cast aside something beautiful like this for a yellow rock, before looking at her hand. The appendage was swollen and had all colors of the rainbow swirling about against the paleness of her skin. It wasn't pretty. Jenny knew some basic first aid, but she had no bandages, and didn't look forward to the prospect of setting the bone herself. Assuming that the road had been created by sentients, and that the sentients had a place to live, Jenny started to follow it, walking in the smooth

The sun shone down on her merrily, and Jenny found her bad mood dissipating. She had gotten a good night's sleep, had blown up group of the worst slave traders (wouldn't be able to collect the bounty, but that would be getting too picky) and she was alive, albeit a bit broken. Being alive was definitely good.

There was a crashing noise somewhere far off in the woods. Jenny stopped walking, and peered into the gloom curiously. The crashing seemed to be getting closer. It sounded almost like running…

"GET DOWN!" shouted a blond man, grabbing her and pulling her into the ditch on the other side of the road. A few arrows whizzed overhead, like irritating flies.

"Shh," whispered the blond, putting a finger to his lips, seemingly ignorant of the fact that they were kneeling in inch deep ditch water. Slowly, he lifted his head above the level of the ditch, looking around. At his waist, Jenny noted a long sword, and the thought of a weapon so close made her hearts rate increase.

_A soldier is always armed_.

Jenny pushed down the feeling of her life being dictated by rules programmed in her head, and peeked over the side of the ditch. All she saw was the empty road, but the blond man was getting anxious. "Where is he?" he muttered to himself.

"Who?" Jenny asked. "And where am I?"

The man glanced at her in surprise, like he had forgotten about her, and then horror dawned on his face. "Vivian?"

"Who?" Jenny asked, raising an eyebrow, and once again looking like her father.

The man shook his head. "Sorry, you look like someone I used to know. You're in the glorious kingdom of Camelot. Well, this ditch isn't very glorious, but if I can find my idiot serving- GET DOWN!"

Both people ducked, and several more arrows zoomed overhead, along with a flash of bright light. The man frowned, stood up, unsheathing his sword with a fluid movement.

A raven-haired man stood in the center of a circle of unconscious thugs. He grinned. "There was a freak tornado."

"That just happened to knock out everyone but you?" the blond asked skeptically.

The other man shrugged. "I don't know anything about freak weather phenomenon."

"Right," the blond said, eyeing his companion suspiciously. "Well, Merlin, go get the horses."

"Who's that?" the second man, Merlin, asked, looking at Jenny. Jenny smiled at him.

"I'm Jenny Smith. Um, neither of you two would have, by any chance, seen a man in a blue box around here, would you?" Blank stares answered her. "Never mind," she muttered. "You'd have known if you saw him."

"So you're Merlin, and you are…?" she asked, turning to the blond.

"King Arthur," Arthur told her, putting his sword away in a metallic scrape.

Jenny cocked her head to the side. "King Arthur and Merlin? Does that mean you're the Once and Future King, and you're the wizard?"

"No," Arthur said coldly. "Merlin is not practitioner of magic. Magic is illegal in Camelot."

"But he just knocked out all those muggers with some sort of spell," Jenny responded, gesturing to the bandits lying on the ground, twitching slightly. "Of course, it could have been something else. A grenade or a strong leaf blower or something." She studied Merlin, looking for a leaf blower.

"What happened to your hand?" Merlin asked, looking shiftily at Arthur and changing the subject.

"I blew up some slave traders, jumped down a flight of stairs, and caught myself on an awning," Jenny said. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone who knows how to heal stuff, would you?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Rewrote the second chapter. Nobody knows about this though, because the last updated date didn't change. Hope it does now, lol. Review!**

"So, what year is it again?" Jenny asked as they traveled. She was riding on the back of Arthur's horse, one arm wrapped around his middle, and the broken hand held protectively against her chest.

"Er, the Year 750 of Our Lord," Arthur said. "Why?"

"No reason," Jenny answered. "Just, sometimes I forget. Ow."

"Sorry," Arthur said. Jenny shrugged, wishing he would stop forgetting he had a passenger and leaning back against her. She decided she didn't like horses. The unsteady motion made her feel like she would fall off, and there was no way to stop it except for holding onto Arthur for dear life. Jenny much likes space ships better. Space ships had crash netting. Horses did not.

However, Merlin and Arthur rode easily, like they had been riding their whole lives.

"What would you say if I told you that I was from a few thousand years in the future?" Jenny asked.

Merlin glanced over at her, blue eyes curious. "What happens in the future?"

"Well, I'm not _actually_ from the future," Jenny laughed. "That would be dumb. Only my dad can travel through time."

"Where _are _you from, Lady Jenny?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

"Messaline," Jenny answered.

"Where is that?"

"Er… far away," Jenny answered.

Arthur nodded, seemingly unsatisfied. "How'd you come to Camelot?"

"I… have no idea," Jenny said. "I fell asleep, and I woke up in the woods. I don't know what happened. It's fine though. I like adventure." She grinned, and then hugged Arthur tighter as he urged his horse into a trot. "Oh crap, slow down."

The bouncing set her off balance, and Arthur laughed before slowing back into a walk. "I swear, if you do that again…" Jenny threatened. The bouncing of the trot had nearly thrown her off.

"It sounds like magic to me," Merlin said after a few minutes.

"Hmm?" Jenny asked, glancing over at the servant.

"Your coming here. It sounds like something transported you by magic."

Jenny shrugged. "I don't believe in magic."

"Well you should," Arthur snapped. "Magic is one of the most evil forces in the world. People who use it are twisted into something awful, and there's no cure."

"So…it's like a disease then. What can you do with it?"

"Anything," Merlin interrupted. "You can create things, or grant life to things, or make fire or lights or shapes in the smoke. You can do _anything_ with magic. Not… that I know anything about it… or anything."

Arthur glared at Merlin. "Stop talking about it like it's a good thing, Merlin. Jenny, you wouldn't happen to know what sorcerer transported you here, would you?"

Jenny shook her head, and then realized Arthur wouldn't be able to see that, so she said no. Arthur frowned. "We're nearly to Camelot. When we're there we'll get Gaius to look at your hand. And then I need to talk to you. I just have to make sure you haven't been under any spells."

"I'm not on any medications, if that's what you're asking. If you're king, why do you just travel around outside the city, without a guard?" Jenny asked suddenly, curious. "What if an assassin kills you or something?"

"Nobody would dare kill me," Arthur snapped.

"Touchy," muttered Jenny, dropping the subject, for now.

Finally the castle towers were visible over the treetops. Excitement gripped Jenny, enough to block out the pain in her hand. She was in another time period. She was a time traveler! She would see people from a completely different era, thousands of years before. She felt almost giddy with anticipation.

Camelot did not disappoint. It was a rich city, with people selling different things like jewelry and clothes, many people (all human!) wandering about, mystery calling from the darkened alleyways, dogs, cats, and other animals roaming the streets, and an amazing variety of taverns and smiths and other things you'd find at a Renaissance Fair.

"Wow," Jenny whispered, looking around, eyes wide, trying to take in everything at once. She craned her neck, trying to see the top of the castle as they rode into the courtyard. Arthur dismounted, and before anyone could help, Jenny clumsily slid off the horse's back.

A few servants walked over and took the horses, nodding to Arthur. Merlin was a servant, Jenny noted, but he seemed to have a higher status than the others. He handed his horse's reins off to another servant, and hurried after Arthur and Jenny.

"Arthur, we've been looking for you!" a new man said, running up. He wore armor and a long red cape. His stubble and long hair gave him a roguish, charming look. "But who's this? I am Sir Gwaine, milady," he said, kneeling down and kissing Jenny's hand, worried anger forgotten.

"Jenny Smith," Jenny answered, pulling away her hand with a grin. "From Messaline."

"Well, beautiful Lady Jenny Smith of Messaline," Gwaine said, straightening up. "How do you like Camelot so far?"

"It's amazing," Jenny said, laughing at the blatant, unsubtle flirting. "Perhaps you might show me around later?"

"No," Arthur said, pushing them apart. "You are going to see Gaius. Merlin, take her to Gaius."

Jenny wiggled her fingers in good bye at Gwaine as Merlin led her into the castle.

They were silent for a few minutes, until Jenny said, "You have a really strong psyche."

"What?" Merlin asked, glancing at her sharply, through suspicious eyes. "Why do you say that?"

Jenny snorted. "It's obvious. You knocked out eight men with your mind. That's really advanced stuff. Like, Tibetan monk advanced."

"That wasn't-"

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Jenny answered with a smile. "Why is Arthur so worked up about 'magic'?"

Merlin sighed. "It's a long story."

"I like stories."

Merlin studied her, apparently debating on whether or not he could tell her. Jenny studied him in return, without Arthur there to hog the spotlight. Merlin didn't hold her gaze for long, and Jenny got the idea that he was more comfortable out of the spotlight, in the darkness beyond. One of the stage crew, perhaps? Controlling the scenery, whispering the lines to the actors…?

Before Merlin could tell Jenny about why magic was illegal, they reached the door that Gaius lived behind. Merlin pushed it open, calling, "Gaius? I need your help!" as he did.

An old man appeared from the other side of the room. He stared at Jenny. "Young lady, what _are_ you wearing?" he asked.

"Er…jeans and a tank top," Jenny responded, looking down at herself to make sure that was, in fact, what she was still wearing. Sometimes she would change her clothes and forget about it. A new change of clothes would be nice. Her jeans were ripped, and her camouflage sleeveless top was stained. It was hard being dead broke with a bounty on your head sometimes, but worth it.

The old man, Gaius, raised an eyebrow. "Indeed."

"Jenny broke her hand," Merlin pointed out. Jenny held up her black and blue hand helpfully, wincing as she remembered the pain again. Stupid awnings. Stupid blown up building.

"Sit here then," Gaius ordered, pulling out a chair. He walked over to what looked like a supply closet, and started pawing through the various jars. Jenny looked on anxiously.

"Look, all I need is some Novocain," Jenny said. "Then you can set the bone without me swearing like a shuttle driver, and then just put a cast on it. It shouldn't be too badly broke. Probably only a fracture." She poked at her hand, wishing she knew more first aid.

"Novocain?" Gaius asked, turning to her. "Is that a herb where you come from?"

Jenny felt like kicking herself. Of course they wouldn't have Novocain back in the Dark Ages. They hadn't even discovered penicillin yet.

"Sorry, it just, er, doesn't grow around these climates," Jenny said quickly. "It grows in tropical climates, and this is a temperate climate. Like coconuts." She let out a laugh, but of course nobody got her reference.

Gaius nodded, raising his eyebrow once again. "Quite. Now if you excuse me, you lady, I will find the salve for your hand."

"Right, sorry," muttered Jenny, staring back down at her rainbow hand.

Merlin's eyes met hers, and they were sparkling with amusement. "It's not you, Jenny," he said. "Gaius is always like this."

Gaius walked over with a salve, and unscrewed the top. A bitter smell quickly defused throughout the room, making Jenny sneeze. Gaius took her hand and rubbed the salve over the bruising. "Merlin, hand me the bandages," he ordered sharply.

"I'm used to people not liking me," Jenny stated, following up on Merlin's earlier statement.

Merlin glanced at her as she handed the bandages to Gaius. "Why wouldn't people like you?"

Jenny shrugged. "I don't know. I always follow my beliefs and everything, and I suppose people don't like that. My dad liked me. But he thinks I'm dead. And so did the woman with him, Donna."

"I like you," Merlin said with a grin.

Gaius looked between the pair. "Merlin, could I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah, of course," Merlin answered, shrugging. "What is it?"

"In private?"

"Really? Er, sorry Jenny,"

"No problem," Jenny answered, walking into the hall and closing the door behind her.

_A soldier always knows what people say behind his back_.

Jenny tried to shake the programmed voice out of her head, but it urged her to stick her ear to the door, and listen to the conversation inside the room. The wood was rough and splintery against the side of her head, and she could feel individual strands of her long blond hair get caught on it.

"Merlin, I'm not sure about this girl," Gaius was saying.

"Gaius, she's fine. We found her in the woods."

"How'd she break her hand, Merlin? How'd she get here? Where's she from? Why is she wearing those outrageous clothes?"

"She was rescuing some slaves, she said. She broke her hand while she was doing it. She came from the land Messaline."

"I don't trust her."

"Gaius, normally when somebody comes, I don't trust them, and I always turn up right."

"What about Freya, Merlin? You would have trusted her with your life, but she would have killed you."

Jenny heard a sharp intake of breath, and she wondered who this Freya was. Merlin's voice responded, and Jenny could hear anger in it. "It wasn't her fault! She was cursed! There was nothing anybody could do. Look, I don't know much about Jenny, but I don't think she would hurt us."

"Have you considered, Merlin, that this could be a plot to take Arthur's life?" Gaius asked. Jenny had to struggle not to laugh. The thought of her as an assassin…

"No, Gaius. If she was an evil sorceress she would have killed us in the woods while we were fighting the bandits."

"Bandits! Merlin, I tell you to be careful-"

"It was fine, Gaius, really. Arthur was more than a match for them alone."

Jenny could imagine Gaius wringing his hands. She got the feeling that as much as he wanted to, he couldn't stop Merlin from doing what he wanted. It sounded like Merlin did as he pleased. Jenny liked that in a guy…or she assumed she did. She hadn't actually had a relationship with anybody yet.

"Merlin, just be careful," Gaius said. Jenny sensed that the conversation was over, and hurried away from the door. A few strands of her hair got caught though, and ripped out of her ponytail.

She slid to a sitting position against the wall, poking at her bandaged hand, as Merlin walked out. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?" Merlin stated, nodding at a few blond colored hairs on the outside of the door.

"I'll leave, if it's too much of a problem. I'll just find a passing ship and hitchhike out of here."

"Don't leave," Merlin told her. "Come on, we'll find Gwen to give you a dress. You look about her size. Your clothes are too inconspicuous. Come on." They started walking.

"Thanks," Jenny answered, not thrilled about the thought of a dress. "But can you get me men's clothes instead? You can't run in a dress."

_A soldier always has the ability to run, whether it be towards an enemy, or towards someone who needs help_.

"Are you okay? Your eyes unfocused for a second," Merlin pointed out.

Jenny shook her head. "Fine. It's nothing."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Nothing means something. What is it?"

Jenny snorted. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me," Merlin said. "I'd believe a lot."

"Well, I was actually not born. I was cloned."

"I have no idea what that means," Merlin said. They came to a bench, and Merlin sat down, gesturing for Jenny to do the same. She sat next to him. "But continue."

"Well, I come from another planet, in the future," Jenny said. At Merlin's confused look she elaborated, "You know the little lights at night?"

"Stars, yeah."

"Well, they're actually suns, far away. The world we stand on is a planet. It's a giant round ball that goes around the sun."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows that the Earth is flat."

"Nope," Jenny laughed. "Columbus will discover that later on. Believe me or not, I came from another planet. I'm not human. I'm a time lord. My father is a man known called the Doctor. Have you- no, I already asked if you've seen him. But when I was created, I was programmed- like I was born knowing these rules to being a soldier, and they always pop up in my head. Sometimes they're helpful, but sometimes they aren't."

Merlin frowned, and Jenny could almost see the gears in his head turning as he struggled to digest the fact that life was nothing like he thought it was. "So…" he said slowly, "you aren't one of us. You're from the stars. And you were born a soldier?"

Jenny nodded, impressed that he had figured it out so fast.

"Why?" Merlin asked, shaking his head.

"I don't know. I fell asleep-"

"No. Why be born a soldier? Was there a war or something?" Merlin reiterated.

Jenny laughed, but it wasn't a normal laugh, it was a cruel, angry laugh. "Oh, there was a war alright. A damned war that lasted seven days but killed thousands. We died so fast that they kept creating new soldiers, fully grown, fully trained. I was one of those soldiers."

Merlin frowned, sitting back against the wall. "You were born fully grown?"

Jenny nodded nervously, wondering what he was getting at.

"How old, are you, exactly?" Merlin asked, staring at her.

Jenny shrugged. "About five, I guess."

Merlin jumped up, eyes wide. "Oh gods. Are you serious?"

"Do I look serious to you?" Jenny asked angrily. "I didn't ask to be born this way. I didn't ask to be forced to fight in a stupid war. I didn't ask to HAVE STUPID DAMNED RULES IN MY HEAD EVERY TWO SECONDS!"

_A soldier never lets anger take control._

"ARGH!" Jenny shrieked, clutching her head, contemplating slamming it against the stone wall.

"Jenny, sorry," Merlin said, moving towards her. "I didn't mean…I was just surprised."

The time lord covered her face with her hands, regaining control. She suddenly felt Merlin's hand landing comfortingly on her shoulder, and she looked up. Merlin was looking at her, blue eyes unreadable, but not hostile.

"Sorry I flipped out," Jenny muttered, forcing the words out. Apologies were hard, but Merlin seemed to be one of her only allies. She wasn't quite sure about Arthur, and Gwaine seemed to only care about her because she was a girl. She couldn't afford to let him hate her.

Merlin grinned. "Don't worry about it," he said. "It happens. Come on. Gwen's chambers are this way."


	3. Chapter 3

**Well this chapter kinda feels like filler to me, but I do get moving into teh plot and that's all that matters. Sorry about the delay. Huge test in a week, big english project... you get the picture**

Jenny followed slightly behind Merlin. He seemed slightly wary ever since she had told him who she was, but when she thought about it, she realized that was normal. Afterall, what were you supposed to feel when a blond girl appeared in the woods, claiming to be an alien from another world?

"Gwen's room is up here," Merlin stated, and pushed open a door. "She's actually married to Arthur, but she still has to move all her possessions to his room."

Jenny nodded. "Gwen… Guenivere? The one who cheats- Nevermind. Forget I said anything."

"What were you going to say?" Merlin asked, pulling open a closet door and motioning for Jenny to choose something.

Jenny looked, admiring the beautiful colors and soft fabrics. "Anything?" she asked, forgetting about her request for dull men's clothes.

Merlin nodded. "What were you going to say about Gwen cheating?"

"It's probably nothing," Jenny muttered, reaching for a forest green sleeve that stuck out from behind a red flowery thing. "We have a story, where I come from, about Queen Guenivere having an affair with the knight Lancelot. But don't tell anyone I said that, okay? Because it's probably completely different. Everything else is."

Merlin sighed. "No, that's impossible," he answered, staring at a spot beyond her. Before Jenny could ask, he elaborated, "Lancelot is dead."

Jenny bit her lip, muttering an apology. Merlin shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "Lance made his choices."

Jenny left it at that, but jumped as the door creaked open behind them.

_A soldier never lets down his guard._

A dark-skinned, pretty woman walked in, looking utterly surprised to see Merlin and Jenny. "Hello, Merlin," she greeted him, looking strangely at Jenny. "Who's this?"

"Jenny Smith," Jenny answered before Merlin could open his mouth. She stepped forward, holding out a hand. "Of Messaline."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at her hand but shook it. "I'm Gwen- I mean, Queen Guenivere. Nice to meet you Jenny." She stared pointedly at Merlin.

"We found Jenny in the woods," Merlin explained. "Arthur was afraid that she might be an evil sorceress, so we brought her here."

Gwen snorted. "That would be like him. Stupid. Bringing an evil sorceress here. _Are_ you a sorceress, Jenny?"

Jenny shook her head. "Nope. I'm completely normal." For a time lord, she added in her head.

"Alright," Gwen said, taking her word for it. "But why are you in my chambers?"

"Jenny needs some clothes," Merlin said. "She's about your size, so I figured she could borrow one of your old servant dresses."

Gwen studied Jenny. "Merlin, go," she ordered.

Merlin rolled his eyes and left the room. Jenny heard him slide down against the wall and sit outside the door before Gwen closed it.

"Right, Jenny," Gwen said, throwing open the wardrobe all the way. "Which dress do you like best?"

Jenny blinked. Fashion wasn't her strong point. It didn't matter what you wore when you were running for your life. It was the second time she was being asked what she wanted to wear. The first time had ended in disaster, with soldiers breaking through Hollister's wall and chasing after her as she did her best to sprint off with a skin tight shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. It had taken _ages_ to double back around for her cargo pants with all her gear, and half of it had been stolen.

_A soldier never leaves his tools behind._

That decided it. Breaking rules was what her father said to do, and what she was obligated to do, being a Time Lord and all. "The green one."

Gwen pulled it out and held it up to her. "It compliments your hair," she decided. "Good choice. Here."

She passed Jenny several more garments, petticoats and other bits Jenny didn't know the name of. "All of this for fashion in the middle ages?" Jenny asked incredulously. "And no pockets?"

"No," Gwen responded. "You don't need pockets for anything. You're now a noble. Nobles get everything handed to them on a silver platter."

"Jenny Smith of Messaline," muttered Jenny to herself. "Doesn't sound very noble."

"Of course it does," Gwen laughed. "Messaline…it sounds like a fairy tale country, like out of the stories."

Jenny snorted incredulously. "It wasn't like that at all. It was awful."

"Well, pick another name then," Gwen answered, looking through the back of the wardrobe. "And if you don't like the dresses, you could dry these."

Jenny grinned at the dark blue tunic and brown leggings. "That's more my style," she agreed.

"Here," Gwen said, reaching for her shirt. Jenny skipped back a few steps.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping you change," Gwen said. "I know I'm queen, but I used to be a servant."

"I can change my own clothes," Jenny said suspiciously. "You mean you don't know how to dress yourself in Camelot?"

Gwen frowned. "I do. Nobles don't have to. They have servants to."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "I hate that. Idiots like that ruling are what cause the downfall of nations."

The queen put her hands on her hips. "Well I'm sorry if you don't like our way of living."

Jenny stopped, going through the conversation. Any other person would have laughed and agreed with her but Gwen…was queen. Damn.

_Never insult the authority._

"Sorry," Jenny forced out. "I'm…sure that the leaders… have more important things to think about."

Gwen blinked. "I'm sorry too. I only just became queen, and it's stressful. But I'm making excuses. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"Don't worry about it," Jenny said with a grin, pulling her shirt over her head and replacing it with the tunic. "I'm not insulted."

"That's good. And you look nice in that. Do you mind if I braid your hair? And what are you using to keep it in a ponytail?"

The time lord pulled the elastic out of her blond hair, letting it spill over her shoulders. Dust from the collapsed building puffed out around her shoulders like a white cloud. The blond sneezed and hopped out of the cloud. "Yeah," she muttered as the dust dissipated. "A building collapsed on- near me."

"Are you okay?"

"Only broke my hand," Jenny responded, holding up the injured appendage. "It doesn't hurt so much anymore. The old guy patched it up."

"Gaius? He's good at that," Gwen answered, running her fingers through Jenny's long hair and loosening the tangles. Once she deemed it good enough, she started to fishtail it down Jenny's back. Jenny played with the hair band while she waited, enjoying the feeling of Gwen's skilled fingers gently tugging at her hair. Once it was done, Jenny fastened the end and stood up, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Well, I have to go," Gwen said. "Arthur's having a council meeting in a few minutes. I'd invite you, but you aren't a knight or a noble. Sorry." The funny part was, she looked genuinely sorry.

Jenny waved a hand dismissively. "I hate important meetings like that. I'd much rather do something fun, like breaking people out of jail, or breaking myself out of jail... NOT that I do that on a regular basis… heh…heh." She grinned innocently.

Gwen frowned, and shook her head, pushing open the door. Merlin jumped up, instantly clenching his fist like he was hiding something.

"I have to go to the council meeting, Merlin," Gwen explained. "Do you think you could find Jenny a place to stay before you come?"

"The _servant_ goes to meetings?" Jenny asked, studying Merlin. She remembered the way the other servant had taken his horse without a second glance earlier, and this only cemented her theory that Merlin was a bit more than he said he was. So even if nobody else knew he was magic, he had still managed to worm his way up the social hierarchy. Interesting.

Merlin shook his head. "Just to serve drinks and distribute paper weights. Come on, Jenny. Gwen can find her own way to the meeting."

"Bye Merlin," Gwen called as they walked away, leaving the queen to go her separate way.

The pair walked in silence for a few moments. It wasn't an awkward silence, but it wasn't quite companionable either. It was some mix in the middle.

And it was shattered by the sound of gunshots nearby.

Merlin responded first, jumping nearly a foot in the air before running over to the nearest window. Jenny, used to the sound of guns, whether they be laser or old fashioned bullets, didn't even blink, before she remembered what time period she was in. She looked out the window herself, in time to hear another gunshot and see somebody fall in a puddle of blood, far below them.

"I saw someone running," Merlin said, taking off down the hall. "Stay here."

"No!" Jenny responded, grinning. "I live for this stuff!"

Merlin slid to a stop. "You can't come with me."

"Are you kidding?" Jenny asked. "You need me!"

"I barely know you."

"I fight people like that all the time. I know how to fight them. I don't even need a gun. Now come on."

Merlin, understanding the gravity of the situation, stopped arguing, and the pair raced towards the courtyard.


	4. Chapter 4

**If artsy please read: Since there's a new image thing here, if anyone wants to make a cover for this feel free to message me. I'm too lazy to make one myself, plus I like writing better than drawing. **

**Another chapter written. Enjoy.**

Chapter 4

By the time they reached the courtyard, both Jenny and Merlin were panting, and the figure Merlin had glimpsed was nowhere to be seen. People crowded around the wounded man, and terrified shouts and words snaked through the air, slipping into people's ears and sowing terror in their minds as well.

_A soldier helps the wounded if there is nothing left to do._

Merlin and Jenny pushed through the rapidly growing crowd, which seemed desperate to hold them back. Finally Merlin, with a quick sidelong glance at Jenny, whispered a spell into his hand. People parted in front of them like the Red Sea and closed behind them as Jenny and Merlin rushed towards the wounded man.

Gaius wasn't even there yet. A woman from the village, who served as healer for the poorer folks, was kneeling on the ground next to the man, her dirty skirt soaking up his blood like a sponge. She had removed the man's shirt, and two round holes glistened in the man's bloody skin, right next to each other, nearly connected. One was in his shoulder, and the other was right below where his neck connected to his body.

"The bullets are still there," Jenny announced, leaning down. "Hold him down for me."

Merlin grabbed the man's arms, and another man in the crowd grabbed his feet. "This'll hurt," Jenny warned him, though his glazed eyes didn't respond.

_A soldier does not let a biological reaction stop him from doing what is necessary._

Jenny, with lack of pliers, stuck her finger into the less fragile looking wound, gritting her teeth and struggling to ignore the squishy, bloody warmth. The bullet was hot against the tips of her fingers. The man screamed in agony as she gripped the piece of metal with two fingers and pulled it out, holding it up to make sure all the pieces were still on it. The man's screams dissipated into gasping, and every breath sent little beads of blood flying from his lips. Jenny could see he didn't have long for this world. She didn't dare touch the bullet hole in his neck, for fear that she damage it further than it was.

"Hey," she said, pressing her hands against the bleeding holes. "Did you see who shot you?"

The man focused on her for a moment, gritting his teeth against the pain. "It… there…was…" He closed his eyes, blood dribbling down his chin.

Suddenly the ground backed off, and the courtyard went quiet. Arthur strode across the courtyard, with Gaius stumbling along behind him. Jenny imagined the sight of her leaning over the man, spattered in blood, didn't look good.

"He's been shot," she announced. "I got one of the bullets out, but the other's somewhere in his neck, right here." She scrambled back, giving Gaius room to work. The old man creakily knelt down and started to probe the holes with his finger.

"Did you see who did this?" Arthur asked Merlin, grabbing the back of his shirt and hauling the man to his feet.

"Someone ran away," Merlin reiterated, stepping away from Arthur. "He left the courtyard, but I didn't see where he went."

Arthur pointed at Sir Leon, who had just arrived. "Gather up the knights, and talk to everyone in the city. We have to find out where the murderer has gone."

"NO!"

_A soldier never lets the informant be harmed, unless there is a chance he might be captured by the enemies._

Everybody turned to Jenny, who had grabbed a bottle from Gaius's hands. "Make him sleep and he won't survive the night. You have to stop the bleeding! And make sure his lungs and everything are still working! If he's coughing up blood then obviously something's been ruptured."

Gaius glared at Jenny. "Well, young lady, would you like to heal him then? No? Perhaps you should leave me to do my job."

He snatched the bottle from her hand and allowed a few glittering drops to fall into the man's mouth. Slowly, the victim's muscles relaxed, and his eyelids slid closed. His hands, clenching and clawing at the ground in agony, fell limp.

"Who was he?" Arthur asked.

"My guess, sire, is that somebody else was meant to be killed," Gaius speculated.

Jenny frowned, and walked to the entrance to the courtyard.

_A soldier is always informed._

She stretched out her arm, pointing at the man on the ground, and then pointing up to where she estimated he would have been standing. In front of her finger was an open window, revealing an empty hallway.

"Somebody was walking by that window when he was shot," Jenny announced when she realized everyone was looking at her. "There was only one gunshot, but two bullets, and the holes were right next to each other, so the gun fired two bullets at once. Merlin, was he carrying something big?"

Merlin shrugged helplessly. "I didn't see that. I just saw him disappear around the wall."

"Who was walking by that window about ten minutes ago?" Jenny demanded.

"Um-"

Jenny stared at Merlin. "Who?"

"That would be the window we were walking by," Merlin pointed out.

Jenny deflated a bit. "Right. Well, makes sense that somebody would be after me even here. Um… yeah."

"If it makes you feel better," Merlin mentioned, "It could have been someone trying to kill me."

"With a gun? From the future? A double-barrel…" She rubbed at the bullet a bit with her thumb. "Well, I don't know the brand or make. But still, from the future."

Several knights rode by on horses, great hooves kicking up dust, which settled on Jenny like it had missed her in the last twenty minutes that she hadn't been dusty. Jenny didn't notice. The wheels in her mind were turning at a rate that would have reduced an ordinary human to a drooling vegetable.

Suddenly she started walking towards the group, noting that Merlin inconspicuously had his hands on the man's chest, and that little wisps of gold light were curling about them, nearly invisible in the sun. How nobody else noticed was beyond her. He finished quickly, and the holes, still bloody, looked a few days old rather than fresh. He rushed to catch up with her as she marched across the courtyard, ponytail flipping from side to side.

"It had to be somebody who holds a grudge against me," Jenny brainstormed. "Where's the armory? That's about everybody I've ever met. Ah, this sword will do nicely. It would also have to be someone with access to money and technology. Hand me that crossbow? Probably a politician. No, I don't like this one; hand me that other one. Time travel, that's what he needed. But how'd he lock onto me?"

Jenny fell silent for a few moments, while Merlin doubtlessly tried to suppress a headache.

"Temporal trace!" Jenny exclaimed, grabbing Merlin's shoulders with still bloody hands, causing him to jump. "When I got sent back in time, there would have been a rift, spewing particles of the time vortex, even though it was only opened for a few moments, and matching particles would have been located at the location I appeared." The time lord picked up an awl and jabbed a few holes in a belt meant for someone much more muscular and thicker around the waist than her, and used it to replace the flimsy, decorative belt she had on. "That's advanced stuff though," she mused. "Really expensive. And messing with the time line can have major side effects. I met a guy once, who grew reannual grapes, and he forgot to plant the seeds after he harvested the grapes…not good."

"Shut up," Merlin ordered. "Do you know who it is?"

"Yeaaaaa- no. I'm working on that," Jenny admitted. "What were you doing to that guy?"

"Yes, Merlin, what were you doing?" Arthur asked, sauntering in. "And what is Lady Jenny doing with Sir Gerald's sword?"

"Saving my life," Jenny said. "Going after bad guys. Crashing parties. There'll probably be lots of running involved. Who wants to come?"

Jenny couldn't read the glances Merlin and Arthur shared, although she could tell that they were friendly, and Arthur's looked slightly bemused. She wasn't good at nonverbal communication. A psychologist had once told her that it improved with practice, and experience-wise she was a child. Shortly afterward the psychologist had been blown up in his own home as it turned out he was selling medicines that had nasty side effects, so Jenny wasn't quite sure about the accuracy of his statement.

Suddenly glass exploded over them, glittering diamonds that imbedded themselves in any soft piece of flesh available. Arthur was shielded from most of it by a shelf, but tiny shards assaulted Merlin and Jenny, sending tiny rivulets of blood down their faces and hands.

Merlin touched his face gingerly, pulling out a larger piece of glass that had made a nasty cut across his cheek. Jenny ignored the tiny cuts all over her face and went straight for the source of the explosion: a reddish brick with a piece of paper tied around it.

_A soldier always ignores physical pain if there's something more important._

The time lord picked up the brick, quickly untying the string and read the letter.

Merlin glanced over her shoulder, but his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What language is that?"

Arthur snatched it out of Jenny's hands, ignoring the way she had paled when she read the letter. The king scanned it over, and then thrust it back at her. "Read it out loud."

Jenny took a deep breath. "It isn't good."

"Read it anyways," Arthur ordered, placing his hands on his hips and looking kingly. The time lord took a deep breath and read:

_Dear Jenny Smith the Generated Anomaly,_

_We are not appreciative. Our most trusted agent died in the misfortune you have caused at Kloshings, and he must be avenged. We are sorry. It is only business. Have a good day._

Arthur and Merlin stared at the blond, whose hand was shaking slightly as she held the letter. "Who's that?" Merlin finally asked.

"I destroyed a building where a meeting on human trafficking was taking place," Jenny said slowly. "They want revenge."

Arthur bought it, but Merlin frowned, like he suspected Jenny wasn't telling the whole truth. Meanwhile, the time lord sighed. "I should go," she said. "These guys won't quit. They'll chase me to the end of the universe and back.

"Why send you a letter then?" Arthur asked, showing a remarkable amount of thought for the blond king. "Why not just kill you?"

Jenny shook her head, smirking. "The shot was a warning shot, probably meant to scare me. The letter was to warn me to get my will in order. Next time I meet them, they'll kill me. I'll be ready for whoever they send, but I don't want to put you medieval folk in danger. Mind if I take this sword?"

"Yes," Arthur said. "I will not be the king who sends an innocent maiden into the forest alone. You may have shelter here from whatever assassin is chasing you."

Jenny glanced at Merlin, who nodded, giving her a smile. "It's not every day you get to meet a girl from the stars."

"Alright," Jenny agreed. "I'll stay."


	5. Chapter 5

**About 100 people read last chapter, and no one reviewed. Just throwing that out there.**

Chapter 5

_Pain blossoms in my middle. It is all I can do to cling to Dad's image, his lips moving frantically, his hands clutching me. Over his head a face appears, laughing. Three long scars mar his cheek, starting just above one blind eye and slashing down his cheek and over the corner of his mouth, dragging it into a permanent half frown. He sneers at me, a grotesque face with the scar. _

"_I'll find you, little time lady," he laughs at me. "I'll find you before your dad ever does."_

_Suddenly we're standing in a room. I don't remember coming here, but I remember the room. The Nameless Man kneels at the other end, shadows covering his face. I know what happens next, and I fight it, digging my heels into the floor. I struggle to form the word "No!", but my brain doesn't connect to my lips. Instead I say, "I'm here. What do you want?"_

_He looks up at me, and this time there are no scars. He smiles at me. "Beautiful Jennifer, I didn't think you would come."_

"_It's just Jenny," I respond coldly. _

_Then he's grabbing me, touching me. I scream, kick, sob, but his arms surround me like chains. Adrenaline rushes through me. The rules are screamed through my head._

A soldier always takes the upper hand, by any means possible.

_My long finger nails dig into his forehead, ripping into his flesh, down through his eye, over his mouth. Blood and fluid drips down my arm, soaking my armpit. He throws me across the room, clutching his ruined eye. _

_I run. _

_And then Dad's there. I stop short. His face is stern, and I feel terror erupt in the pit of my stomach. _

"_Get away, Jenny," he growls. "There's a reason I haven't come."_

"_Dad!" I wail, and the Nameless Man's laugh fills the area, and Dad's laughing with him, and I'm shaking and someone's yelling my name._

The time lord's eyes shot open, looking into the bright blue eyes of the warlock.

"You okay, Jenny?" he asked. "You look like you've been swimming."

Jenny noticed the sweat drenching her hair and the covers twisted around her like a second, slightly damp skin. She shook her head. "Just a dream."

Merlin frowned. "If you want to talk about it…?"

The time lords struggled out of her blankets, shaking her head. She stood up, and suddenly remembered that she was wearing one of Gwen's skimpy night dresses. Merlin looked over, blushed, and started staring out the window. "Sorry," Jenny muttered, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around herself. She sat on the bed, her father's angry face still glaring at her inside her head. She shook her head, trying to get the image out.

"Are you okay?" Merlin asked, looking over at her. She nodded, trying to force tears back down into the dark part of her soul. Merlin sat down next to her. If he were a noble, the thought of sitting on the same bed as an unmarried girl would have been scandalous, but peasants had different thoughts of what was scandalous.

Jenny drew in a shaky breath. "My dad left me. He thought I was dead, but he left. Why didn't he take me, Merlin?"

"My father died," Merlin said quietly. "I didn't even know he existed until two years ago, when I watched him die."

"I'm sorry," murmured the time lord. "That must have been awful. It doesn't really make me feel any better though."

Merlin shrugged. "You aren't alone, I guess. At least your father is alive. You might meet him again someday."

Jenny suddenly stood up. "Damn it, Merlin, I've been here for three days! I don't even know who's after me. I can't find any clues. I'm practically helpless in this time period. I don't understand! Why isn't he coming after me?"

"Maybe he gave up?" Merlin suggested. He was quiet for a few seconds before he asked, "Do you want to go into the forest? I have to find some herbs for Gaius, and you seem bored sitting around the castle. Not that it's more fun outside the gates."

_A soldier never shows weakness_.

Jenny smirked, pushing the bad mood from her dream deeper into the darker part of her mind, letting the brighter part show. She already felt a bit embarrassed for allowing Merlin to glimpse that part of her. "I'll come," she answered. "If Prince Overprotective will let me out. Just let me get dressed."

"Take your time. I still have to wake him up anyways." Merlin pushed open the heavy doors, giving Jenny a wave of goodbye before he left.

Once he was gone, Jenny let the blanket fall to the floor and dressed. Merlin had commandeered a serving girl named Alice to find Jenny some extra clothes. They were plainer than Gwen's clothes, but Jenny decided she liked it better like that. That way she didn't feel guilty when they became dirty from her active lifestyle.

The time lord had attempted learning to use a sword.

_A soldier is always armed._

She had thought it would be easy. Everybody she had seen using a sword had made it look easy. But it turned out it wasn't easy, especially when nobody was willing to teach her for fear of hurting her. The only knight who had agreed was Gwaine, and he had used every moment to flirt with her, making comments that became less and less about swordplay a and more and more about… other things.

A crossbow was easier, and Jenny kept one of the nicer ones with her at all times. She desperately missed her machine gun though. Many a time she would pause, wondering for a moment where the comforting weight on her shoulder had gone.

She had decided Merlin was her third friend- the first being Donna, and the second being the Doctor. Merlin had quickly forgotten or gotten over the element of her birth, and could hold a pretty good conversation. Jenny still wondered about why nobody knew about his magic, but every time she asked him he would deflect the question, saying something cryptic like, "It isn't time."

* * *

><p>"Is this it?" Jenny asked, holding up a plant with three leaves. Merlin glanced up from where he was digging up a thick, woody root.<p>

"No, that's poison ivy," he said. "Don't touch me until you wash your hands."

Jenny threw the plant on the ground, rubbing her hands on her pants. "How do you even tell the difference?" she asked, glaring at the warlock good naturedly.

"Well," Merlin started, giving her a wiser-than-thou look, "Gaius has been forcing the pictures down my throat for…" he paused, counting on his fingers, "going on five years. And before that it was my mother."

"Ah," said Jenny, who had never even been on Earth before, let alone seen the flora. Merlin threw the root he was digging into the basket with a dirty _thwunk_, and a few other leaves flew out. Jenny dutifully picked them up.

_A soldier always notices a potential hazard._

"Should they be mixed together like that?" she asked.

The warlock shook a hand dismissively. "Gaius can pick them apart if he needs too."

Jenny nodded, and watched as he went to work on another root, using a rock to break apart the dirt. Quickly getting bored, she started to walk around, kicking at rocks and ferns. A squirrel chattered at her from a tree.

She jumped as she heard a loud thump and the cracking of a large stick nearby. "What was that?"

"Probably just a deer," Merlin said, at her side in an instant, leaving the basket. His tone of voice suggested it was not 'just a deer'.

_A soldier always knows his surroundings._

Jenny walked towards where she had heard the sound. As she grew closer she saw movement through the trees, and heard a ripping sound. She frowned, and left Merlin behind as she stealthily ducked and weaved over tree branches to where the noises were coming from.

Suddenly the woods opened into a clearing. Jenny jumped back, and then peered behind a tree.

In front of her was a huge feline creature, with a feathered head and a long, cruel looking beak, tearing into a dead deer. Its tail flicked in a satisfied way, and its large, yellow eyes were fixed on the bloody carcass.

Jenny's face lit up. "Oh wow…" she muttered. "I didn't know evolution even allowed this to happen."

Merlin caught up, and, true to his nature, stepped on a stick. The ensuing _snap_ was a thunderclap, and the griffin jerked its head up, staring straight at Jenny, who was the only one visible to it. It growled, deep in its throat, and stood up, getting between Jenny and its kill. Its feathered ears lay flat against its head, and its tail tensed, the flicking changing from lazy and contented to ready to kill in a heartbeat.

Jenny stepped into the clearing, brushing Merlin's arm off her shoulder. "Hello, beastie," she said. The griffin took a step forward, and growled again, crouching down. Its bloody claws clenched on the leafy floor as it figured out the right distance to jump in order to land on Jenny's small body.

"Bad kitty," Jenny said sternly, pulling up her small frame as much as she could. Some would say the look on her face was the same look her father used. Some would say a blond psychologically controlling a mythical animal was hot. It depended on whether you were asking Donna or Jack.

The griffin wasn't used to humans giving it orders. Jenny was vaguely aware of Merlin behind her, muttering a spell, but she ignored him. Instead she took several steps towards the enormous creature, holding out one hand and speaking in calm tones.

_A soldier never runs from danger, but never blindly runs into it either._

Jenny ignored the rule, and blindly ran into danger.

"It's okay," she crooned. "That's a good kitty. Goooood kitty…"

The griffin stared at her for a moment with yellow, feline eyes, and then made a loud cry, like an eagle. Suddenly it unfurled its wings and pounced. Merlin screamed his spell, and Jenny threw her hands in front of her face in a vain attempt to block the enormous claws.

But all the griffin did was whirl around, grab its prey by a hind leg, and take to the skies, flying away.

Jenny cautiously looked out from behind her hands, just in time to see a golden, glowing shield that surrounded her disintegrate with a few popping noises. She looked over at Merlin, and he met her gaze, eyes wide, and still glowing. Even as she watched, they changed back to their normal blue.

"Wow," she said. "Just wow."

"You could have died!" shouted Merlin. "Do you know how aggressive a griffin is? And you can't kill it with practically anything!"

"I know humans who would kill faster than that," Jenny said, looking at the rapidly shrinking dot in the distance. "Besides, griffins are magical. Aren't they supposed to be smart? Like, the king of the creatures? Symbol of marriage in the church? No?"

Merlin shook his head. "They're just mindless animals. One attacked Camelot once."

"Maybe it was rabid?" Jenny suggested. "Anyways, what was with your eyes? And how'd you make that shield? That was more than psychic energy."

Merlin shrugged, looking like a cat that's been caught while stalking you. It was a look that was both embarrassed and slightly irritated that you'd even notice his existence. "It was nothing."

_A soldier always knows the people around him._

"No, Merlin, it wasn't nothing," Jenny said, turning the look she had used on the griffin onto the warlock. He squirmed uncomfortable, staring at his feet and refusing to make contact. Once again, Jenny got the impression of somebody in the stage crew of a play. He may control when the curtain came up and down, but he avoided the audience at all costs. "Seriously. I don't know how it works, but you could do a lot of good with that," Jenny said. "Why don't you tell anyone?"

Merlin shook his head. "I don't know. It just doesn't feel right."

The time lord sighed. "It's all psychological, isn't it. You've been hiding it your whole life in order to not be burned at the stake, so its first nature to you."

"Don't you mean second nature?" Merlin asked, trying desperately to change the subject from his mental state of mind.

Jenny frowned. "No. First. Definitely first. Do you think we'd be able to find that griffin again? She couldn't have gone far with that deer." The time lord started off in the direction the enormous beast had gone in.

Merlin caught up with her. "You have no idea where it's gone. How do you know it's a girl anyways?"

Jenny hopped over a log, nimbly avoiding a tree branch at knee height on top. Merlin wasn't so lucky, and crashed to the ground. Jenny grinned at him and gave him a hand up. "I could just tell," she said. "Girls are different than guys. We have a more complicated pysche."

Merlin raised an eyebrow, looking remarkably like Gaius.

"Fine," Jenny conceded with a laugh. "There're some anatomical differences too. Come on, farm boy. You should know that."

"Well considering that I got 'the talk' from a celibate monk passing through…" Merlin muttered darkly. Jenny burst into laughter.

"Seriously though," Merlin said Jenny hopped from stone to stone across a small, cheerful creek, "we shouldn't go too far from the castle. It gets dangerous."

Jenny frowned, and looked back at him. "Merlin. _You_ are a warlock. _I_ am a time lord. _We_ are the most dangerous thing in these woods."

Merlin smirked and crossed his arms. "You have no idea what I've had to deal with. Besides, we have no food or water. Last time a few of the knights and I were out here on a quest we needed some water…" He shuddered violently. "Always boil the water, Jenny."

The time lord winced in sympathy, and gave in. "Fine. We'll go back to Camelot."


	6. Chapter 6

**Took a while, but I finally have it done. enjoy.**

The warlock and the time lord hadn't gone two steps before there was what sounded like a clap of thunder. Merlin jumped nearly a foot in the air, and Jenny immediately fell into a battle pose, knees bent, crossbow held out threateningly. "Who's there?" she demanded, pointing the woefully inadequate crossbow at the leafy greenery. Where it was once happy and safe, now ever bush, every tree, every flower hid a danger, a danger that held a gun.

It was silent for a moment. Jenny spared Merlin a glance, noticing that he was whispering the quietest spell. His eyes flashed bright gold for a moment, and he nodded at a bush. Jenny raised the crossbow, and took a step forwards.

"So you have befriended a boy with a strong psychic mind?" came a deep, slightly crusty sounding voice.

_A soldier always knows where the threat is._

Jenny frowned. "Reveal yourself."

A man stepped out from behind the bush, wearing a dirty looking flight suit and carrying a gun. "Jennifer, we've come to take you."

"You work for the Nameless Man." Jenny suddenly felt a tiny irrational fear, deep in her stomach, but she kept it out of her voice. "But where's your ship?"

The man frowned through the stubble on his face. "Whatever do you mean, Jennifer?"

Jenny suddenly grinned. "Well, you're wearing a dirty flight suit, so obviously you've lost any other clothes you've brought. The Nameless Man's minions never have beards, so obviously you've lost your razor. And you're using bullets instead of lasers, so you've run out of power."

The man glared at the time lord, who smirked, crossing her arms over her shoulders. "That's why you haven't done anything yet. You're totally helpless! You're like a sitting duck!" She laughed suddenly. "To think I've been stressed about you for the last week."

The man sighed, and lowered his gun. "Right, Jennifer. Let's call a truce then. The Nameless Man's thousands of years in the future, and I want a shower."

The blond frowned, not lowering the crossbow. "The Nameless Man's minions are never so nice. What's different about you?"

The man groaned. "Look, the ship's gone. We're both stuck here. I don't want a decaying dead body to watch over, and you don't want to look over your shoulder everywhere you go. Truce?" He held out his hand.

Jenny frowned, still untrusting. "Where are the remains of your ship?"

The man shook his head. "There's nothing left. The ship's gone. The Tracer's gone. My wife and son…" He cut himself off, taking a moment to steel himself. "Nothing matters anymore," he moaned. "There's nothing left for me to live for. Please, time lord. Jennifer, I need help."

_A soldier always helps the weaker man._

Jenny's face softened. "I'm sorry," she answered, reaching out to the man. "I'm so sorry."

They made contact, and for a split second Jenny's eyes widened and the man's face broke into a huge grin. She screamed and stiffened as electricity swooped through her body, knocking out nerve endings and shattering her thoughts into a thousand different corners of her brain.

PAGEBREAK

Jenny didn't remember passing out. She only remembered being horribly tricked by one of the Nameless Man's numerous agents. The soft hum of a spaceship surrounded her almost comfortingly, but at that moment all she wanted to see was grass and griffins and strange magic coming from a young man's fingertips.

Suddenly she jerked to a sitting position. What had happened to Merlin? Was he safe? She glanced around the holding cell she was in, noting with slight distaste that, by the smell of the plain gray walls and floors, it had been used before, by someone who had not had access to showers or toilets. Standing up proved to eat up a bit of effort, and sent tingles through her body from the shock that would have killed a human.

_A soldier always knows where he is._

_Evil joy buzzer, _Jenny thought to herself as she peered through the one window in the door of her cell. Unfortunately, it showed her nothing except for an equally dull hallway. It looked like it was going to be an extremely boring trip to the Nameless Man.

She sighed and sat down in the corner of the cell that smelled the best- that to say, it smelled the least. Her last encounter with the Nameless Man had been disastrous, and this time it was going to be the same. It had been a year though, and Jenny liked to think that she would be better equipped this time.

Merlin was another big thought in her head. What had happened to him? Was he here, on the ship? Was he back in Camelot, still keeping his magic a secret?

A crash down the hall dragged Jenny from her thoughts, and she jumped up, trying to see where it had come from.

_A soldier always identifies a potential threat_.

Nothing revealed itself. Nothing turned out to be quite boring. And nothing also turned out to involve the sudden absence of the hum of the spaceship. When zero gravity didn't drag Jenny into the air, she had to deduce that they had not lifted off in the first place. So she had been right about the ship having malfunctioned? That wasn't very comforting, since she was still locked in a holding cell, but it did give her a tiny feeling of victory.

Jenny returned to her corner, feeling slightly humiliated. She had been taken out by a _joy buzzer_. A kid's toy (although that one was a bit more than a kid's toy, and had great potential for a weapon. She made a mental note to look into it later). And now she was in a holding cell, apparently still on Earth, with a man who had gone far enough to play with his joy buzzer that he had grown a beard and worn a flight suit for several weeks on end all and made up a story about his wife and kid. Perfect. Just perfect.

And now she was literally alone with her thoughts, and the occasional crash that filtered through the walls. Apparently beardy was having trouble with the engines for real.

She studied her hands, trying to keep her thoughts focused. Even though there was no way out. The window was covered in something see-through. Maybe it was breakable?

_A soldier always knows where he is_.

The thing about medieval people was that they had not yet invented form fitting clothing. Wrapping the end of the tunic about her fist to protect it from the glass was easy enough. She drew back her fist with some difficulty, since the tunic was still connected to her body, and punched the window as hard as she could.

Pain exploded in her fist, rapidly jumping from synapse to synapse up her arm to her brain. The time lord let out a series of swear words that she was pretty sure the Doctor never used and grabbed her fist with her other, broken hand. It was red and bruised, but would be usable as soon as the pain left. Not giving up, she pulled off her boot, and threw it at the tiny window as hard as possible.

It merely bounced onto the floor.

Jenny groaned, and looked around. The only other exit was a ventilation shaft leading into the room, quietly breathing out room temperature, breathable atmosphere. Unfortunately, the vent was barely six inches across. There was no way she could fit through it, unless she magically shrunk. There was no way out.

She collapsed against the wall in the corner, wondering how long she'd have to endure the boredom. Going up against the Nameless Man alone, unarmed, would have been preferable to boredom (although, she thought, she'd be doing that soon enough anyways).

What would her dad do?

Jenny quickly pushed the question from her head. She would not think about the Doctor, her father, her second friend. That line of thought would lead only to pointless doubt and anger and insecurity.

But were the things she did even enough to get his attention?

No. Jenny shook her head. She did not do the things she did for attention, like some love deprived toddler. She did them to help people.

But still, it would have been nice for some recognition.

Jenny clutched her skull. _New subject_, she thought desperately, but the Doctor refused to leave her mind, his tear filled eyes still looking down on her. Didn't he want her?

The people he talked to, that she later talked to, didn't even seem to get that he _had_ a daughter. "The Doctor has no child_,_" they'd laugh, like she had said a silly joke. "Obviously you're just trying to look more important."

It wasn't even like she could find Donna, because Donna traveled with the Doctor, and the Doctor wouldn't even look for her. A dark feeling of rage was pressing against her insides, taking up physical space, almost. Why the hell wasn't the Doctor noticing her? He had said that they'd travel through time, but apparently the engravings she occasionally left were never noticed!

WHERE WAS HE?

"DAMN IT, DAD!" Jenny shrieked to the walls of the cell.

_A soldier never lets anger take control._

The scream let out enough pent up anger to release some of the pressure, and she prayed nobody had heard the outburst. Weakness was not something to be advertized. No. She'd get out of this mess, and continue helping the universe. Obviously she'd keep an eye out for her errant paternal figure, but she didn't need him to survive. Who needed a parent? Nobody! She had met plenty of orphans who had done just fine.

The sound of knuckles against metal drew her from her internal angst, and Jenny looked up at the door to see the one person she'd never thought she'd see again.

"Merlin?"

She jumped up, a grin spreading over her face faster than the plague over Europe. "The locking mechanism should be on the side," she said through the door, and watched through the small window as Merlin poked at the technology. He looked pale, like he was utterly terrified, but at the moment Jenny didn't care. She had seen plenty of people have their world view shaken (mostly when she crash landed her space ship into the middle of a tribe of aliens) and at the moment Merlin was just another tribesman.

She saw Merlin's frown deepen as he randomly pressed buttons. Suddenly an automated voice informed them, "Maximum pass code attempts. Please wait."

Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and the door flew open with a pneumonic hiss. Jenny flew faster than physically possible, gasping in fresh air like water. "Thank gods! It smelled awful in there! Come on; let's hijack this ship and go!"

Merlin paused. "What? You mean back to Camelot, right?"

It was Jenny's turn to freeze, staring at Merlin's slightly hopeful and terrified face. "Well…you can go back to Camelot. But I…don't belong there. I'm from the future."

Merlin frowned. "Right. Okay then. I'll be going then."

"Merlin, wait."

The warlock glanced back at her, expression unreadable. Jenny opened her mouth, trying to put a strange feeling into words, but before she could do that there was a sudden jerk, throwing both of them to the ground. There was a cry of triumph from the engine room.

"We have to get out NOW!" Jenny exclaimed, leaping to her feet and grabbing Merlin's hand. It was the warlock that led the way to the exit of the ship.

The homestretch was a long chrome hallway. At the end, the ramp was quickly rising. The hum of the engines crescendoed into a dull roar. The time lord and the warlock broke into a full out sprint.

The ramp rose higher.

Jenny's breath was knives in her throat.

The ramp rose higher.

Merlin stumbled beside her, but stayed on his feet.

The ramp slammed shut with the finality of the last nail in a coffin.


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow, its been seriously forever since I've last updated this. But I'm sporadic. What can I say? Seriously though, I'll try to update this again within a reasonable time frame. Enjoy!**

Despite what many companies advertised, take off was never a smooth, easy achievement. It was always rough, bumpy, and bruise inducing. What those companies where really advertising were shock absorbers in the various passenger areas and the cockpit. But this was not a passenger ship, nor was there a reason (or even a way) to put shock absorbers in the exit hallway.

_A soldier always has control._

Automatically, Jenny threw herself at a wall as the ship struggled to break free of the atmosphere, clutching at a few exposed pipes for dear life. Merlin had never been on a spaceship before, indeed, had never even seem one, and his inexperience cost him. The warlock was thrown violently to the floor, and he yelled out in surprise.

_A soldier always helps the weaker man._

Jenny reached out for the warlock. "Grab something!" she called as the ship bucked again, making slam to her knees painfully. Merlin heard her, and did his best to crawl to the wall beside her.

As he clutched the piping, the flight smoothed out. For a split second they were weightless, drifting up from the metal floor, before the artificial gravity kicked in and they fell back down.

"Well that was fun," the time lord exclaimed, standing up and massaging her broken hand. "Let's do it again!"

"Let's not," Merlin responded quietly, looking a bit like he was going to throw up. "What just happened?"

"Ship lifted off," Jenny answered simply, grabbing his hand and pulling the warlock to his feet. Congratulations, Merlin! You've officially preceded all human space travel."

She began walking towards the interior of the ship, then paused and added, "In this timeline."

Merlin just groaned in response. "Is there any way to get back to Camelot?"

The ship jolted suddenly, throwing Merlin to the floor. Jenny, quite used to the feeling of going into hyperdrive, barely noticed it. "Not anymore," she said cheerfully. When she glanced at his face, she laughed. "Stop being so afraid, human! I'm sure earth is in the navigation's history."

Merlin didn't respond. He just continued looking pale and helpless as they made their way to the cockpit.

The ship was nowhere near as grandiose as most of the ships employed by the Nameless Man's minions. He was rich, a crime lord in seven systems, and when people saw his ships, they were filled with fear, not mirth at outdated junkers. But this space ship was about equal to a poor smuggler's rig, rather than a crime lord's minion. Many sections of the wall were nonexistent (or perhaps invisible) leaving wires and piping exposed. A quick twist of a sink in the galley revealed no running water and a computer terminal had a screen so heavily cracked that it was impossible to see.

"Something's wrong here," Jenny muttered. "There aren't enough people around. We should have been captured about five times. Merlin?"

Merlin seemed to have gotten over his initial shock, and was examining another terminal, this one not so badly broken. Cautiously, one finger dragged across the touch screen, enlarging a map of the ship.

"Wow," he muttered to himself. "This magic is far beyond even the priestesses of the old religion."

The time lord let out a light laugh. "It's not magic, buddy. It's technology. Is that a map? Move over."

_A soldier always knows where he is._

Jenny lightly shoved the warlock aside. "Cockpit," she snapped to the computer. Sluggishly, like it didn't feel like doing as it was told, the cockpit of the ship highlighted on the map.

"Display path from location to cockpit," Jenny ordered. A bit faster this time, the computer complied. Jenny muttered the directions to herself a few times to remember (not that it was necessary, as it wasn't that big of a ship) and grabbed Merlin's arm, dragging the warlock off from where he was poking at a few exposed wires.

"I don't need you getting electrocuted," she pointed out when he complained. "We're going to hijack the ship, okay? Can you knock out the pilot?"

Merlin winced at the direct mention of his magic but nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. And then we go back to Camelot." It was a direct order, and Jenny noted an element of defensiveness in it.

"I wasn't going to argue with you," Jenny said, pausing and raising an eyebrow.

"Well- oh. Okay. I'll knock him out."

Jenny nodded, satisfied, and the pair slowly snuck down the hall of the ship towards the closed sliding door that led to the cockpit.

When they were directly outside the door, Jenny held a finger to her lips, and pointed at the door. Merlin murmured a quiet word, and inside there was a dull thump. Jenny grinned and hit a button on the wall, causing the door to hiss open, revealing the bearded man slumped over the control, a bit of drool oozing from the corner of his mouth.

"Perfect," Jenny said, tossing the limp body of the pilot kidnapper to the floor, but not before she used his sleeve to wipe the spit from the controls.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked as she took the unoccupied seat, her fingers flying across the various buttons.

"There's a space port a few systems over," Jenny responded, swiping her fingers over a touch screen and zooming in on a wall of text, once again in another language so strange that Merlin had no chance of reading it.

"But," he said slowly, "Isn't that where he's going? So wouldn't you be going into a trap?"

Jenny shrugged, grinning, and sat back, putting her feet up on the dashboard. "I changed the destination. I need a gun." She didn't mention the inner reason she wanted to go to another spaceport. It was a reason the time lord didn't even admit to herself. The more places she arrived at, the more places that she could leave her mark, and the more chances that her father might stumble across her.

But of course, Jenny merely told herself that she needed a new gun.

_A soldier always has a weapon._

Merlin frowned and stared at the stars streaming past the view screen. "I need to go back to Camelot."

"Don't fret, Merlin," Jenny chastised. "It's an adventure. You like adventures, don't you? I mean, you end up being all mythical and things."

Merlin let out a sharp laugh. "I don't try to find adventure," he pointed out. "Usually it sneaks up on Arthur, and then I have to save his kingly ass."

"I like adventure," Jenny responded. "It's fun."

Merlin shrugged and sat in the copilot seat, studying the buttons and levers in front of him, probably to avoid staring at the white streaks of hyperspace that were so different from his normal blue skies. Jenny soon grew bored, and stood.

"Well, we'll be here for about two days at least," the time lord said, stretching. "Do you have any spells to knock him out for a long time?" She nodded at her downed kidnapper.

_A soldier is always aware of his enemies._

Merlin shrugged. "I've never tried anything like that before. I might accidentally kill him."

"He's one of the Nameless Man's minions," Jenny remarked with disgust. Her foot twitched like she was trying to keep from kicking him. "To them, dying builds character. Let's just stuff him in a closet."

Merlin nodded his agreement, and instantly walked to the kidnapper's arms.

"Wait a second," Jenny argued. "Why do you get his arms? Why can't I get his arms?"

"His arms are heavier," Merlin pointed out. "I wanted to save you the strain."

"But he hasn't bathed in weeks, and his feet smell like feet."

"His armpits are worse."

"He stepped in something nasty. It's growing little hairs. Wait a second. Why are we arguing over this? Can't you just levitate him?"

Merlin blinked, like that hadn't even occurred to him. "I guess I could," he agreed. The warlock took a deep breath, and stared down at the man, outstretching one hand. Jenny was reminded of a classic movie she had once seen, where people would move things with their minds. Merlin's eyes flashed golden, and the limp kidnapper was lifted into the air by his chest. His arms and legs trailed on the ground as Merlin stepped forward, the unconscious pilot mirroring his actions.

Jenny squeezed in front of them into the hall and quickly found a closet that was being used for cables and spare parts. She threw everything out of the cramped space, regardless of what it was or it's usefulness, and nodded to Merlin. He pressed the man inside and let him drop, the gold defusing from his normally blue eyes.

"Right, thanks," Jenny said, kneeling down to do a quick check of his pockets. The last thing she needed was for the Nameless Man to jerk her out of hyperspace because she had neglected to remove a radio from his minion's person.

_A soldier is always aware of his enemies_.

That done, she slammed the closet shut and locked the door. "That should hold him for now," she decided. "When we arrive, we'll ditch this ship. I know we're thousands of years away from my darling enemy, but still, this ship is conspicuous."

Merlin's eyes narrowed. "And then how will we get back to Camelot?"

"We hitchhike of course," Jenny answered cheerily. "I hope you brought your towel." Not waiting for him, she began to walk towards the galley. "And we're going to be here for a while. I hope beardy didn't eat all the food."

"Hitchhike?" Merlin asked dubiously, running after the time lord. "I don't think that's a good idea. What if we run into trouble?"

Jenny turned on her heel, grinning like a maniac. "I love trouble."

Merlin just sighed, and followed her from the cockpit. "Shouldn't…someone stay here to drive?"

"Nah, the coordinates are in," Jenny responded. "Stop _worrying_, Merlin. I'll get you back to your little backwater planet, and everything will be fine. Have some fun!"

"I don't know the meaning of fun," Merlin muttered, following her through the rundown halls to the galley. "My world view's been ripped apart. By trying to save someone I get kidnapped and taken to the stars. Someone walks right in and realizes I have magic. Do you know what happened last time that happened? I had to _kill_ the man! And you tell me to have fun?"

Jenny paused, and blinked in surprise. She had never had to interact with tribal creatures for much longer than it took to shoot up a few SOS signals. It had never occurred to her that there would be any negative side effects to having the whole world shatter beneath one's feet. She supposed it made sense. Merlin had grown up believing his pancake of a planet was the center of the universe, and then, in the course of a few days, learned that not only was his planet _round_, but that it was also not the center of the universe, that there were other worlds, and that the new girl was not, in fact, human.

Jenny tried to put herself into his shoes. All she could imagine was herself ecstatically jumping up and down for joy after getting the boring monotony smashed to bits.

Merlin was silent after his outburst, and Jenny found that she didn't know what to say. She wasn't good with emotions, and the warlock seemed to have a thousand of them coursing through his hormonal human brain. And then it registered what he'd said.

The time lord whirled around. "You had to kill somebody?" It seemed so out of character for the so-far kind, clumsy warlock.

Merlin frowned for a second, as though he were going through what he had said. Then he gave a little, half hearted shrug. "It's my destiny to protect King Arthur."

_A soldier is always aware of his surroundings_.

Jenny shook the rule from her head and reminded herself that, until the Doctor had gotten through to her, she had been fully prepared to fight and die, with absolutely no morals telling her otherwise. Who was she to judge a man from the dark ages? It was kill or be killed back then, right?

Or right now, she reminded herself of her recent, still unsure time travel.

There was an awkward silence between them for several minutes. Merlin was staring at Jenny, like he was daring her to object to his past, and Jenny was trying once again to push down the feelings of being a soldier, of killing, of the Rules regulating her entire life.

"Right, let's go see what's in the galley," she finally said, breaking eye contact with the warlock and not mentioning anything else. "It's going to be a while before we get out of here."

Merlin nodded his agreement.

Both of them walked off, ignoring a frantic knocking from the inside of the closet, and the weak calls of "somebody? Please? Let me out?"


	8. Chapter 8

**No reviews? Okay...I understand. **

**And yes, there is a Hitchhiker's reference, but you don't need to have read/watched it to understand. But in my own little universe, Doctor Who and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are both in the same universe. Adams wrote a few Dr. Who episodes too, so I think it counts. **

It had been several hours since the doors had closed and Jenny had hijacked the old broken down space ship. Merlin was nowhere to be seen. The bearded kidnapper was still locked in the closet, and every once and a while Jenny would crack open the door to make sure he was still being a good boy. It was hard not to be, considering that she had used some heavy duty tape to secure his wrists behind him and his ankles together. Another strip kept his mouth firmly shut.

Now Jenny sat in the cockpit, scrolling through the entertainment options, of which there weren't many. She kept forgetting that she had gone back in time, and her favorite movies and books hadn't been dreamt of yet. Her mind wasn't really on the entertainment though.

How was Merlin doing? Back on Earth, he had a sort of happy-go-lucky attitude, only occasionally punctuated, when he thought nobody was looking, by a dropping of the shoulders and a hopeless stare. But then he would shrug it off and keep going. But last time Jenny had seen him, Merlin had been sitting in one of the other rooms, staring at a dancing flame in the palm of his hand, taking deep breaths.

_It's just culture shock_, Jenny told herself, pushing on the dashboard of the ship to make her pilot chair spin in a lazy circle. _Get it together, girl. You've seen how those cultures react when you crash in their backyards. He's just been taken from his planet.  
><em>  
>Stars and buttons morphed into red and white streaks as she made herself spin faster and faster, grinning to herself and laughing.<p>

"Jenny."

Jenny caught herself, a wave of dizziness slamming into her and making her laugh as she looked up at the warlock. "What's up?" she asked. "Culture shock still getting you?"

That fake grin he used flashed across his face. "Nah, I'm fine," he responded. "I was just going to get something to eat. Want something?"

The time lord nodded and stood, stumbling from the dizziness that hadn't worn off yet. Of course the thing that she stumbled against couldn't be the wall, or the chair.

"Sorry," she muttered, glancing up at the warlock's face. He looked incredibly surprised to have her suddenly leaning heavily against him, but the surprise soon turned to a snort of laughter.

"It's okay," he said.

Jenny stepped back, taking a moment to find her center of gravity again, before flouncing in from the cockpit, trying to regain a bit of dignity. That had been embarrassing. First getting caught playing with a spinny chair like a little kid, and then falling into the warlock. The fact that he hadn't pushed her away was kind of nice though.

They reached the galley, and took up a search on what to eat. Unfortunately, beardy hadn't seemed to want much except for various protein bars and dehydrated cubes of nutrients. Jenny knew she'd have to be starving before she ate those. Merlin didn't believe her and nibbled on the edge of one.

"That's worse than Gaius's medicines," he exclaimed, throwing the grayish 'food' aside.

"Told you," Jenny responded. "When we get there we have to find something to eat."

"Yes," Merlin agreed, nodding. "And then back to Camelot."

Jenny bit her lip. "Yeah. Well, do you really want to go back? There's some pretty amazing stuff in the universe."

Merlin dropped his grin. "It's my destiny."

"Who told you that?" Jenny asked. "Because I don't believe in predestination."

"The Great Dragon Kilgharrah," Merlin responded, blue gaze not wavering. "I need to protect King Arthur so that he can herald in the age of Albion."

Jenny blinked. A plan suddenly sprang into her head. As soon as she thought it though, she felt ashamed of it, and switched her own gaze to the floor.

_A soldier never takes advantage of the weaker man._

"What?" Merlin asked gently.

The time lord shook her head. "No, no. It's stupid."

"So's half the things I say," Merlin pointed out. "I won't laugh."

Jenny offered a half hearted smile. "You wouldn't like it."

"Does it have anything to do with hurting my friends?"

"No, nothing like that."

The warlock nodded. "Then just say it. I promise I won't laugh."

"Oh you won't," Jenny agreed. "But the Doctor- my dad- is a time traveler. And, from what I've learned, he likes to fix things when they get screwed up."

"Screwed up...?"

"Sorry, that just means messed up," Jenny translated her own slang. "But if Arthur somehow didn't make Albion... If an alien girl stopped him... That would attract the Doctor." Jenny twisted her fingers through her blond hair. "Ug, just don't listen to me," she muttered. "I told you it was stupid. Even the Rules think so."

"A time traveler?" Merlin asked, his eyes going wide. Suddenly, faster than Jenny thought possible, he was right in front of her, so that there was barely an inch of space between them. "That means he could go back in time..."

Jenny stared at the warlock as he turned from her, eyes bright, a genuine smile on his face. "We could stop Lancelot, and my father from dying! I could tell Morgana that she isn't alone! I could stop Arthur from ever killing the unicorn and causing all those people to starve! I could save all of the people that Morgana killed!" He turned to Jenny, smiling in a way she had never seen him smile (not that she had known him for that long).

"I don't know if time travel works that way..." the time lord said slowly."I've done a lot of reading on it. You could cause paradoxes and such."

Merlin didn't look too surprised, although he did look disappointed. "You're probably right," he muttered. "Probably the same thing as the crystals."

"You do drugs?"

Merlin's head jerked up. "What?"

"Crystals," Jenny said. "There are a billion drugs that come in crystal form."

"No!" Merlin exclaimed. "There's a cave, and the crystals have the power to show visions of the future."

Jenny put her hands on her hips. "You were so high, weren't you."

Merlin scowled. "I just looked at them. There was no smoking or swallowing involved."

Jenny smirked. "Whatever you say."

"But the visions did come true," Merlin pointed out. "It was awful. Morgana-"

"Morgan le Faye?" Jenny asked, suddenly excited. "Like the witch? That is so cool. You know her?"

"She's... evil," Merlin responded dubiously.

Jenny grinned. "Sweet. You know, maybe I misjudged Earth. Being stranded tends to make everything seem worse. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad to hang there for a little while."

Merlin opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off as the ship bucked suddenly, slamming them both to the floor. "What just happened?" Merlin moaned.

_A soldier is always aware of his surroundings._

"I think we were just pulled from hyperspace," Jenny responded, picking herself up. "That isn't good. Come on!"

The time lord and the warlock sprinted through the ship to the cockpit, hunger forgotten. Merlin stared out the window as Jenny frantically ran a scan through the navigational computer.

"Jenny?"

Jenny ignored him, running her hands through her hair frantically. "No-no-no-no-no! This is impossible!"

_A soldier always keeps his emotions under control._

Jenny took a deep breath. As much as she hated the rules, she had been born with them, and they were almost a comfort at times like this.

"Jenny, look outside. What. The hell. Is. That."

Jenny glanced at the warlock's panicked face, and out the window at the grand ship several kilometers away that now had them in a tractor beam. It wasn't the Nameless Man's ship, to be sure, and she doubted even he had the funds to send that many people back in time. Besides, he had probably spent most of his money trying to fix his face.

"Right," said Jenny, thinking fast. She saw Merlin jump out of the side of her eye as she darted off to one of the hall closets, where the spare flight suits were kept. "Put this on, right now." She pulled one out for herself and pulled it on over her clothes. It was messy, and made her look about forty pounds overweight, but that was a good thing.

"Hurry!" She urged, gathering up her hair and shoving the whole mess under a dirty hat that no doubt had about fifty species of lice from fifty different planets living in it. Merlin obeyed, pulling off his shirt since the suit actually fit him.

"Right," she said, running her fingers around the bottom of the swivel chair, greased nicely to spin well, and smeared some of the dark grease over her face. "I'll talk. We crashed on Earth, and our ship was damaged. We made as many repairs as we could, and then took off for the nearest spaceport."

The entire window was filled with the sight of metal. Suddenly remembering, Jenny threw open the closet they had hidden the original pilot. He made a little noise in his mouth when he saw them, but fell silent when Jenny slammed him on the head with a broom. Quickly, breathing hard, she locked the closet.

A controlled crash echoed through the ship as they docked.

_A soldier is always under control._

Jenny took a deep breath, and, almost unconsciously, reached out and squeezed Merlin's hand. He jumped at the contact, but before he could say anything Jenny was marching off to the airlock to meet her fate.

It opened slowly, full of suspense, and beside her, she could hear Merlin's breath stop. "No magic," she hissed quietly, and he nodded.

Two people appeared from behind the door, both wearing matching grey uniforms. Jenny ignored Merlin's sharp gasp of breath, and stepped forward confidently.

"A Tree of Cheem and a Silurian?" Jenny asked confidently. "I didn't know that you were allies."

The tree, a tall man with ornate carvings in his head along with the normal swirls of bark, responded in another language. Jenny stared at him, and muttered, "crap."

"What's it say?" Merlin asked her quietly.

Jenny shook her head helplessly. "I don't speak that language. I speak twelve languages from my own time, but not from this one. Crap."

The tree glanced down at the Silurian man, who was shorter, his scales a bright green. The two exchanged looks, and then the tree gestured to Jenny and Merlin to step forward. Merlin glanced at Jenny for permission, and took it as a yes when she strode forward, off the ship and onto the other.

"Oh, I like this much better," Jenny admired as they arrived onto the newer ship, a gleaming chrome structure that still bore the scent of newness. "What I would give to drive this baby around."

Merlin didn't respond. He was just staring around, wide eyed, like a little kid on a vacation for the first time. Jenny decided to ignore him, and began memorizing the twists and turns they took through the ship.

_A soldier always knows where he is._

They came to what seemed to be the sitting room. Jenny supposed it must have been the highest quality they had to offer, but it paled in comparison to some of the luxury liners she'd been on before. The couches were soft though, and the view screens flag and large, and whoever decorated really seemed to be partial to the color orange. Ridiculously bright orange.

The Silurian walked over to a cabinet bolted to the wall, opened it, and rifled around a bit before pulling out a jar filled with liquid and yellow, slippery little fish.

"What's he doing with that?" Merlin whispered frantically to Jenny, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh brilliant!" she exclaimed. "Babel fish! Those are so expensive in my time; you have no idea what people would pay for them!"

She took the fish offered to her, and without hesitating, shoved it into her ear, shuddering only a little at the slimy, slippery feel. And then she couldn't feel it anymore, but she could understand, and that was the greatest thing ever.

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed. "I'll never have to learn another language again."

"Who are you two?" asked the tree, cutting right to the chase.

"Who are you?" Jenny shot back.

"Bounty hunters," the tree responded. "We've been waiting for an illegal time jumper heading this way."

"Ah, yes," Jenny responded. "He was coming after me. We have him tied up in a closet back in our ship. You guys can have him."

The tree nodded at the Silurian, who disappears back the way they came. "But you haven't answered our question," he pointed out. "Who are you?"

"Answer me this," Jenny said, "and I'll tell you my name. Have you seen a man in a blue box? Wears a suit? Travels with a ginger named Donna?"

"The Doctor?" the tree responded, sitting down on one of the couches and putting his hands behind his head casually. "I've heard of him. Why do you want to know?"

"I'm his daughter, Jenny Smith," Jenny responded, trying to push away the feeling that maybe... this time...

"The Doctor has a daughter?" the tree responded. "I did not know that. Take a seat, you two, don't just stand there all day looking awkward. Now tell me, Jenny Smith, why was the time jumper looking for you?"

Jenny wondered if she should say it, and decided that she was thousands of years back in time and she didn't care. "I'm from the future," she said. "I was sent back in time, somehow."

"What year?"

Jenny paused for a moment, and then said awkwardly, "I'm not actually sure. It was different for each planet. Uh, I'm from Messaline."

The tree nodded. "And that is incredibly helpful, in that it is only an empty ball of rock in this time period, no doubt. Why were you being chased?"

Jenny shrugged. "There was a crime lord in the future. He calls himself The Nameless Man, and he fancied me, but wasn't exactly looking for a long term relationship, if you know what I mean. But before he even had a chance to try anything I clawed out one of his eyeballs and escaped. He's been hunting me ever since."

As she finished speaking, the Silurian returned with the kidnapper thrown over his shoulder. Jenny added, "and this bloke works for the Nameless Man. Feel free to do horrible experiments on him."

The corner of the tree person's mouth twitched like he was about to smile. The Silurian remained emotionless, merely dropping the kidnapper onto the ground. He landed with a dull thump, and his head lolled limply. The Silurian pulled a small tablet from his pocket, and ran it over the pilot.

"Scanner's positive," he said.

Jenny smirked. "I'm pretty sure he's not pregnant."

Both bounty hunters and Merlin shot her a look that clearly stated, _not funny_. Jenny shut up.

Merlin chose that moment to speak up for the first time. Until now, he had been so quiet Jenny had nearly forgotten about him. "If you have a ship, can you bring me back to Cam- Earth?"

"Earth?" the tree asked. "That planet is but a level two. Why would you want to go there?"

"It's my home," Merlin responded simply.

The time lord shrugged awkwardly. "He got dragged along when he tried to rescue me," she pointed out. "It was an accident." In a stroke of inspiration she added, "He's sort of like my traveling companion."

The Silurian rolled his eyes, picked up the pilot again, and left the room. Jenny waited until he was out of earshot. "What is that bloke's problem?" she asked.

"He does not exactly like humans," the tree said. "And he's partially my slave."

A frown crossed Jenny's face. "I thought the Trees of Cheem didn't go for slavery."

The tree smirked, standing. "Well, I'm not exactly an orthodox Tree of Cheem, am I? Now, I am only in this for the money. I will allow you two to leave at the next space port, as long as you never mention that you saw me."

"Price on your head?" Jenny asked sympathetically. The tree didn't respond. She continued. "That sounds fine to me."

The tree stood. "Feel free to rest in here, but do not leave this room until we dock. Oh, you're back."

The Silurian, who had just returned, shot Jenny a strange look and gestured to the tree to lean in close. All Jenny could hear were near silent whispers, but the widening of the tree's eyes spoke volumes.

"Well," he said, striding over until he was looming over the pair. "It seems we have a Time Lord on our ship. It seems that you, Jenny Smith, were telling the truth about your parentage."

_A soldier always knows when he is in danger._

"Actually, I was lying," Jenny said quickly. "I just like the attention. My Dad's actually from the future, Doctor Daniel Smith, PhD in psychology. He never loved me as a kid, and I wanted some loving, so I made it up, thinking maybe that Doctor would come find me, but he doesn't care about me, really, and I've only met him once, and he thought I died, but I wasn't, I was just knocked out, and then I got on a space ship, and I'm worth no money whatsoever, no price on my head, no sir-"

The tree seemed to have given up following the rant. "Shut up, Miss Smith. Scanners have picked up a binary vascular system, and certain regenerative qualities about you. I'm not going to hurt you, or your traveling companion. I'm only going to make a bit of money off of you. And, be warned, the air ducts are far too small on my ship to escape."

With that statement, he left, with the Silurian following meekly behind him. Jenny turned and looked at Merlin, who looked utterly terrified.

"Crap."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disappeared because reasons, but I think it helps this story, because now I have new ideas. Enjoy, and review. Sorry about any typos.**

_A soldier never lets stress hurt his thinking._

"Well…at least this cell is comfortable," Jenny said with a shrug, lounging on the couch and downing a soda. "He could have thrown us into the bilge or something."

Merlin stared at her incredulously. "We've been captured by _aliens_. How is this comfortable?"

Jenny grinned, setting the empty can on the table. "Merlin, you worry too much. I've been in far worse situations, and I'm sure you have too. I mean, trapped in a tree by your lover? That must have sucked."

"Freya never-"

"Oops," Jenny muttered. "Spoilers."

"But how are we going to escape?" Merlin paced by the door like a trapped animal, blue eyes flashing with some emotion. "We can't just sit here!"

"Of course we can," the time lord said. "Where would we go? Into the vacuum of space? Don't worry about it. As a time lord, I am well equipped for this situation." Jenny grinned reassuringly, not feeling worried at all.

Merlin rolled his eyes, and then frowned. "If you're a girl, why do you call yourself a lord? Shouldn't you be a time lady?"

"I don't like to adhere to gender politics," the time lord responded with a wave of her hand. "Come on, sit, relax. It'll be a few hours until we land. Tell me about Camelot."

Merlin took one last look at the door. Jenny had watched him try all of the unlocking spells he knew, although they were all meant for manual locks, not these complicated computer controlled locks. The medieval warlock truly was helpless in this situation, and the alien girl couldn't suppress the guilt that curled in her mind for getting him stuck in this mess.

He sighed, and sat next to her on the couch, still looking jumpy.

"So what do you medieval guys do for fun?" Jenny asked, trying to get his mind off of the fact that he was imprisoned thousands of miles from his home.

Merlin shrugged. "I mostly spend my time looking after his royal prattishness, the king."

"Like?" Jenny made a twirling motion with her hand, tucking her legs underneath herself.

"Oh, you know, getting his clothes together, drawing his bath, writing his speeches…"

"What, he can't dress himself?" laughed the time lord. "Is he a _child_?"

"It seems like it," Merlin agreed, a grin shadowing his worry.

Jenny scooched a little closer to the warlock, pulling a chunk of hair out of her face. "Well, it seems to me that you shouldn't be looking after the king. _You_ should be the king. You're like a super hero with those powers."

"I-" Merlin started to object, when there was a huge crash somewhere else on the ship. "What was that?"

"No idea," Jenny responded, hopping off the couch and darting over to the door. It took her a second to figure out the controls, but within a few seconds she figured out which button was the intercom. "Hello?" she said, and let go of the button. Merlin walked up behind her, resting one hand on her shoulder.

Silence was their only answer.

"Um, I know we're prisoners, but that crash didn't sound good," Jenny said again, trying not to let the slight nervousness leak into her voice. "Hello? Copy? Roger?"

There was another crash, slightly quieter, and then static. "Dammit," Jenny muttered.

"Should I blow the door down?" Merlin asked, wide-eyed.

Jenny frowned, and it was her turn to pace back and forth nervously. "Well, if the ship's been hijacked, then it might be safer for us to stay locked up in here. On the other hand, that might be stupid. Because now they know we're here, and if they've done something to the tree guy then they probably know what we are."

"That sounds promising," Merlin muttered, rolling his eyes.

_A soldier never runs blindly into danger._

Jenny pierced her lips, thinking. Finally she shrugged. Rules were for breaking after all. "Whatever. Go ahead and blast the door, warlock."

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked.

Jenny nodded. "Go ahead."

He took a deep breath, then pushed a hand towards the door. For a second, nothing happened, and Jenny was ready to flop back onto the couch and wait out their air. And then, with the shrieking of metal and the sparking of wires, the door blew outwards, slamming against the floor and scraping several feet, until it hit the wall where the hall turned a corner and stopped.

"Don't touch the walls," Jenny ordered, ducking through the ragged hole. "You'll get electrocuted."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Merlin muttered, looking almost surprised at his own carnage as he followed the time lord.

They turned the corner of the hall, hopping over the broken door, and came face to face with the Silurian.

The lizard man chuckled. "I knew it wouldn't be long before that idiot plant bagged me a couple million credits."

Merlin and Jenny stared, and then Jenny chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?" The Silurian shouted, hefting a large gun.

Jenny tried to rein in her mirth. "Sorry, I'm just glad you're not some weird space monster. We'll get back into our nice cell now. Sorry about the door, but hey! When you sell us, you'll have enough money to get it repaired, or maybe a whole new ship! Won't that be nice?"

The Silurian just glared at them. "I don't have the kindness of my late master."

_A soldier must always be moving to make a harder target_.

Jenny darted to the side too late, as a scaly green finger tightened on the trigger.

*****PAGEBREAK*****

When she came too, she was tied up in the cargo hold. It was dark and dirty, but hopefully they would be docking soon so she could grab her pet warlock and escape.

Jenny scowled at the sound of little space rats scurrying around through the crates carrying unknown cargo, and wriggled her wrists around, but they were completely incased in duct tape. Nothing short of a knife wielded by somebody else would get her free.

"You're not a human," a tiny, squeaky voice said. Jenny strained her eyes to see in the low light, and was surprised to find a little space rat sitting up on its hind legs, looking up at her. Little whiskers twitched as a tiny tentacled nose twitched up at her.

"And you're a talking space rat," Jenny pointed out.

The space rat nodded. "We really aren't that different."

Jenny didn't quite know where that had come from, but space rats had sharp teeth, and she quite enjoyed the use of her hands. "Would you mind chewing off this duct tape?"

"After all," the space rat continued, like she hadn't said anything. "There are horrible rumors about my kind, but truthfully, we just wish to persist in our quest for truth."

"The truth of the flavor of duct tape?" Jenny suggested hopefully.

"And now that one of the humanoids is speaking with us, we can become greater than we have ever been!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's great," Jenny said, rapidly losing patience.

_A soldier is always in control_.

"We have the capacity to rule the multiverse," the space rat continued, stretching up on its little paws and waving a fist towards Jenny. "But you all hold us down! You persist in spreading rumors, in throwing us corpses to chew on, in- ieeeeeeeee!" The rat shrieked as a boot kicked into the darkness, and its little body slammed against the wall of the hold.

The Silurian stood in front of Jenny, holding an unconscious Merlin in one hand while motioning for her to stand up. "I would appreciate you not speaking with the rats," he said coldly. "They ingested a bit of a chemical spill a few years back, and have been growing far too big for their britches."

Jenny frowned. "That's an earth saying."

A quick blast from a different gun dissolved the duct tape around Jenny's ankles, and the time lord was free to stand. But her captor was quick to point the gun to Merlin's head. "Try anything," he warned, "And your boyfriend gets it."

"He's not my boyfriend," Jenny corrected, standing. "But he has a cute face, so I'll do what you say for now."

"Good girl," the Silurian said, nodding his crested head. "Now follow me."

He tossed Merlin over his shoulder and led Jenny out of the ship, into the bustling spaceport of the moon of Calderia. Noise slammed into Jenny's ears like a nuclear bomb, and the bright sunlight burned her pupils before she blinked, quickly adjusting after the quiet darkness of the cargo hold.

"Where are we going?" she asked, jogging to keep up with her Silurian captor. Not surprisingly, he didn't answer.

_A soldier always has a plan_.

It really wouldn't have been hard to get lost in the crowd of aliens, but Merlin was still with the slaver Silurian, and Jenny didn't want to leave him. She had gotten the medieval warlock into this mess, and she would get him out.

It turned out to not be that difficult. "Um…Mr. Silurian?" she called sweetly.

"Time lady?" he snapped, glaring at her.

Jenny smiled apologetically. "Before you sell us into our hellish, inevitable fates, could I please stop by the lady's room?"

"Seriously?"

Jenny did a little dance. "Please? It's an emergency."

Her captor rolled his eyes, and pointed at a surface station. "Go. Be back in five minutes, or I shoot your little human."

"You can trust me," Jenny said intensely, and darted off through the crowd towards the station.

Inside it was much quieter, and she walked immediately to the counter.

"Hi," she greeted.

The middle aged, over weight green man glared up at her. "Are you going to buy something?"

Jenny shook her head. "I'm being held captive by that Silurian out there. Please, could you call the police?" She gave the cashier her best puppy eyes, and twisted so that her duct taped hands were visible.

He sighed mournfully. "All I wanted was to retire quietly with my store." He pressed the button under the counter.

Within a few moments, interplanetary peacekeepers burst into the door. Jenny told her story, exaggerating it and trying to shed a few tears, but she had never managed to learn crying on cue. But when she pointed to the Silurian, he was gone.

"Shit!" She rushed out, tearing through the streets, trying to catch a glimpse of scaly skin or raven hair. "He's gone!"


End file.
